ComplaintsforMyers Poultry Farm

• Initial Complaint

  09/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I ordered 50 cornish cross mixes to be delivered the week of Memorial Day. When the post office called, I promptly picked up the chicks and brought them home and put them under heat. A month later approximately June 22nd or 23rd the chickens were moved outside to a chicken tractor. Over the course of the next 3 days I lost 25 birds. 7 of them died in the first three hours. I contacted the business and was told the owner would reach out to me. The owner told me that it was to wet outside and that was why they were dying. I informed her that it had not rained in Western PA in 3 weeks at that point and she promptly told me that it was too dry or maybe they had heart attacks. She was going to contact other purchasers and see if they had any issues. As of today, I haven't heard from her. Cornish crosses should hit processing weight in about 8 weeks. The chickens are 14 weeks and barely weighed 4 lbs at processing. I raised 30 of these birds last year with no issue. There is a problem with this batch of birds that is completely out of my control. During that same time frame, I raised 12 Buff Orphingtons chicks and 30 ducklings with NO losses.

  Business response

  09/11/2023

  Dear Customer,
  
  Thank you for your inquiry about your order, your order hatched and shipped on 5/29/2023.
  We have provided the communication we had to date below:

  
  Customer email on 6/29:
  “Hello. I ordered 50 cornish cross meat chickens from you and had them delivered the week of May 31st. Since last Thursday, I have lost more than half of them. There is nothing wrong with them. They are eating, drinking, scratching, running around 1 minute and an hour later multiples are dead. In the span of 2 hours, 7 had died.”

  
  Myers Poultry Response on 6/29:
  ” Hello, I am sorry about the losses. I understand this can be very frustrating. I do have a few questions to try to determine what is happening.
  How are you finding them dead (face down/on their backs)?
  What feed are you using?
  What bedding are you using?
  Do they have any blood in their stool?
  Have you listened to their breathing? Try holding their beaks shut and listen, is there a clicking sound or is it clear?”
  
  Customer Response on 6/29:
  “Most of them are have been found on their backs. They are still on chick starter. They started dying after I moved them onto grass, so as far as bedding it’s just grass. No blood. Breathing is normal.”

  
  Myers Poultry Response on 6/29:
  “Since the bedding is grass and they’ve been moved outside it seems like the issue is related to the environment. Mornings and nights are very damp with dew and general moisture and it is chilly at night. It seems like the wetness and temperatures are impacting them, this spring has made it a tough year for transition chickens to outside. With temperatures in Pennsylvania this time of year it seems that they might have been moved outside a little early. At night we suggest that they be brought in or under cover and dry.
  To provide some further insight our owner will be calling you today.
  *Diane tried calling and it went to voice mail.
  Please call her cell @************”
  
  There are many factors that can cause loss in birds
  Since the customer did not experience losses the first four weeks and the one factor that changed was their environment it is likely to say the environment maybe the cause of the losses.
  when raising birds on pasture please be aware of the following:
  Outside temperature:  This can have a factor on overall health of the bird. Provide adequate shelter with a heat source if temperatures get cold.
  Predators/Pets:  Birds may get scared and go to one corner.
                                   They may have a heart attack if a dog or a predator causes stress.
  Drinking water Temperature:  If it is warm outside and birds are drinking really cold water the birds may go into shock.
  Wet bedding:  Wet bedding/environment changes can cause the birds to get cocci. This will affect the birds weight gain and will not go away unless treated.
  
  The customer got the same birds from a hatch that produced 50,000 chicks

  
  We checked with other customers, and they did not have any issues.
  Myers poultry can provide other customers information (if requested) for this customer to contact who got birds from the same hatch.
  Myers Poultry provides a live guarantee 48hour past arrival. This policy can be found at **************************************          
  Out of consideration for losses the customer experienced we can provide a store credit only for half the order. We will be reaching out to the customer with further details. 

  Customer response

  09/11/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  *** ****** ** ** ******** **** ****** ** * ****** ** ***** **** ** **** **** **** ** *** ********
  Regards,
  
  ********* *********

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